Lily Evans Life As A Muggle
by emerald-eyed-stag
Summary: James Potter has a strange fasination with the pretty green eyed waitress at the muggle coffee shop in London. The maruders dont understand why he insists on going there day after day. What they dont know is that, as weird as they may be, they make Lily E
1. Meeting Lily

A/N: this is my new story, and I really hope that you like it! Review when u get to the end of each chapter, please?

Luv Ella xXx

James Potters' friends had spent the first week of the summer holidays wondering why on earth he insisted on going to the muggle coffee shop, when they could, now that they were of age, easily purchase a Firewhisky at the Leaky Cauldron.

Sirius Black was the most vexed; the fact that he couldn't flirt with the witches that would wait hopefully for him at the pubs and in Diagon Ally; in Quidditch supply shops, and ice creameries; made him very annoyed indeed. But day after day James insisted that the four friends visit the same little shop on the corner of a little street in London; _La Crema_ the muggle coffee shop, which looked so strangely unfamiliar to the boys that it made then doubt very much that a witch or wizard other than themselves had ever set foot in there before.

Sirius rolled his eyes at James' so called, new found caffeine addiction, and Peter was so glad to be bonding with Prongs that he would gladly sip down latte after latte, not caring that he actually despised the taste. Remus Lupin, however, knew much better. He often followed James' gaze, no matter how his friend tried to disguise it; to the green eyed girl behind the counter, who had red locks of hair flowing down her back in waves.

"That'll be two pounds." The girl told James, staring him in the eyes expectantly. James didn't move. He just continued to stare back, a wistfully blank expression on his handsome face. The girl gave a small, humoured smile, trying not to laugh, as James' face remained slackened and his hands still in his pockets, not even reaching for change to pay her with.

"Sir?" she said, prompting him to snap crudely out of his stupor, and jump a little, shocked that she had spoken, and reddening at the fact she had noticed the staring. He stumbled for a moment.

"Er, er right, got it, pounds, two of them." He said, fumbling with the pockets of his muggle pants. Remus rushed to his side, spying his awkwardness from a table or so away, where the others were waiting. He swiftly pulled a five-pound note out of his pocket, and slipped it into James' hand, sidling away again.

James smiled, and pressed it into the girl's hand.

"Er, thanks." She said, smiling at him strangely. James didn't move. "Er, you can sit down now, if you would like… we do bring it out to you…"

James jumped again, and walked back to what he very much thought was his table.

"Sorry but what do you think you are doing?" asked a portly man in a suit, a table away from where Remus, Sirius and Peter were sitting, watching with pained expressions on their faces, as they observed James making a complete fool out of himself.

James jumped out of the seat as though it was on fire, and stood next to the table, realising that the man with the ruddy face and thick neck was not a friend of his. He moved quickly over to where Sirius had saved him a seat, and sighed, banging his head on the table, coming back to his senses.

"Prongs, what the hell is wrong with you?" Sirius asked, one eyebrow cocked curiously, eyeing his friends disturbing behaviour.

James looked up, his chin resting on the table, and stared Sirius straight in the eye.

"I have no idea. Please tell me!" he begged, desperately. Remus laughed.

"I can tell you. You're head over heels for that waitress, that's what." He explained, matter-of-factly, smiling at James, and looking back at Sirius as his face dawned with comprehension.

"Oh. The good looking red head hey?" he asked, in a sly manner, with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Here I was thinking you were enjoying our little tea parties, when all along you just want to perve on some girl? To tell you the truth mate, I would prefer the firewhisky, but hey, whatever floats your boat-"

"Sirius, please stop being such an ass for one moment," Remus said, rolling his eyes at Sirius' blatant insensitivity.

Sirius shrugged. "Really, it's a girl. He could get any girl he wanted back at the castle, and yet he has to go chasing after some muggle. I'll admit, she's a pretty muggle, and you both know that I don't have anything against muggles, but I'm telling you, dating one is not a good idea."

"Sirius, you have never dated a muggle-"

"I have too!" Sirius argued back. Remus rolled his eyes. "What? I have!"

"For more than one night?" Remus asked, annoyed. Sirius stopped for a moment.

"No…" he muttered, after a long pause. "Muggle girls don't react well when you assure them that it's just your wand in your pocket. It scares them, for some-" comprehension dawned on Sirius' face, and he let out a laugh. "Ohoho… I understand…"

Remus sighed, and looked back at James, realising he hadn't been listening to any of the conversation. Instead, he was staring over the top of his menu at the red haired beauty, pensively.

Remus stopped, silencing Sirius with a wave of his hand, and giving James a small, encouraging smile.

"Why don't you talk to her, ask her out?" he asked.

James shook his head.

"I wouldn't know how." He said, ashamed, the colour rising in his face. Remus' eyes widened, Peter let out a small squeak, and Sirius a bark of a laugh.

"What do you mean Prongs?" Sirius asked, amazed.

James shook his head, not too sure of what he was saying himself, coming to a startling realisation as the words fell out of his mouth.

"I mean…back at school, they all come after me… because I'm a marauder, and a chaser, and all of those things…here in the muggle world, she doesn't have a clue who I am. If I told her that I was a chaser for a bloody Quidditch team she would stare at me like I was crazy, and tell me that I had a speech impediment. I really don't know how to ask a girl out." He was so shocked at what he was saying that his face almost mirrored Sirius' mask of pure amazement.

"Just talk to her." Remus said. "About something other than the weather…" he added, quieter, remembering yesterdays dire squeak of 'sunshine!" as the pretty girl approached the table. James nodded, his face a little white now, as she made her way over to the table, carrying with her two coffees- one each for James and Peter, who were the only ones still ordering on their daily trips to the café.

"One cappuccino, and one…why are you staring at my chest?" she asked, taking a step back, one hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing in James' direction. Remus groaned, and slammed his head to the table in anguish.

"I-I-I-It's pretty." James stammered, making Sirius give out a snort of laughter. The girl was appalled, and for a moment it seemed as though she was going to throw the remaining coffee all over James, however, he came to his senses and jumped to life, explaining himself away before she had a chance to do that.

"I mean your name is pretty!" he gushed; his eyes open wide, on his horrified face. "I was reading your name tag! Lily! It's a pretty name! I am so sorry, I realise how that all must have sounded! James! James is, name! My name…er…thanks for the latte."

He took the coffee that Lily had placed in front of him, and promptly took a large gulp of it, Lily standing back, still frozen in a rather sceptical position.

James' throat burned, as the hot coffee seared down his throat and chocked up in his chest.

James spluttered, and Lily couldn't conceal a small grin as Sirius thumped him hard on the back, and he stopped coughing, staring down Sirius, annoyed.

"Well, you talked yourself out of that finely." She said, when James was looking at her again, eyes still watering from the chocking incident. "But one more comment like that and I'm going to have to hurt you just a little bit." She added, with a small smile.

She grinned kindly at the four friends, and James lit up.

"Nice to meet you James." She said, with only a tiny hint of sarcasm in her voice, and she swished on one heel, and walked back to behind the counter, humming slightly to herself.

James turned to Sirius, Remus and Peter, smiling wildly. They stared back at him blankly.

"Smooth." Sirius sneered, derisively. James threw a scone at him, which bounced off his head marvellously.

The boys remained there for much of the morning, James refusing to leave, and ordering dubious amounts of coffee, never approaching the counter unless Lily was the one serving. Around midday, when Sirius had fallen asleep on the side of the table, and Remus was getting ready to tell James that they must leave, a girl approached the table; a tall girl, with dark brown hair hanging down her back stood over Sirius' snoring figure, smiling.

"Hey." She said, poking with one finger, to wake him up.

Sirius groggily opened his eyes, and found himself face to face with the abnormally pretty girl, causing him to smile.

"How you doing?" he asked sleazily, sitting up straighter, and swishing his hair back out of his eyes elegantly. Remus coughed in disgust, and Peter sat, in awe of his calm composure. If either one of them had woken up to find someone that pretty in there face then they would have been acting a lot more like James, who was currently pouring sugar sachets onto the ground next to him in the desperate hope that they would send Lily to clean it up, with an insane expression on his face that told them he clearly thought he had stumbled upon and ingenious idea.

The girl laughed, and took the empty seat between Sirius and James, which the later had actually pulled over to tempt Lily when she was on her break.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?" she asked, looking Sirius up and down, and searching his face with here eyes. He smiled.

"I wish I could say yes, but I know I would remember a face as beautiful as yours." He said, swiftly, as though reciting something he had learnt word for word, very long ago. The girl laughed again.

"No, I am sure I have seen you. I know it." She said, her eye narrowing a little, "I am positive I have seen your face."

Sirius shook his head.

"Nope. Impossible." He said, sure that he could remember all the muggle girls he knew, seeing as there was a rather limited list. The girl raised one eyebrow, slowly; making it known that she still didn't believe him, even though she didn't press the matter any further.

"Right, well I'm Bella." She said, smiling, flicking her hair out of her eyes, "Can I at least have your number?" she asked, with a small grin. Sirius smiled right back, not hesitating for a moment.

"Why you sure can." He replied, thinking it a rather odd request for a muggle, but complying just the same. "Number seven m'dear, I'm a beater. Prongs here is a chaser, bit of a softy, but I'm lucky number seven."

Bella's face displayed a clear expression of confusion, and she looked to Remus, who was the only other one watching the conversation, desperate for an explanation. Remus took one of James' empty sugar packets, and scribbled down a phone number with the pen in his pocket.

"Here." He said, handing it to her. "He misunderstood, here's his phone number."

Bell smiled gratefully at Remus, and stood from the seat, touching Sirius lightly on the shoulder as she left the store, leaving him very confused indeed.

"What did you give her?" he asked Remus, perplexed. Remus chuckled.

"My phone number. It's like a two-way mirror, for voices, that muggles use. I have one because my dads a muggle, I gave her mine."

Sirius was outraged.

"Don't you go taking girls from me!"

"I'm not. I'll cover for you. What was I meant to do, you can't go sending her owls for crying out loud!" he said, scandalised.

Comprehension dawned on Sirius' face.

"All right. Thanks Moony, but you know tomorrow, we're- Prongs? Prongs, come on, enough caffeine for you buddy!" he whined, pulling James back down to the seat as he rose to get another coffee, the sugar trick having been a complete failure.

Remus shook his head, also getting up from his seat.

"No, come on, it's time we left anyway." He said, Peter also rising from his chair, and James giving them all a pleading expression. Remus shook his head.

"No James, come on, you'll go crazy if we stay here any longer." Sirius said, and also stood. James followed, reluctantly, and the four friends reached the door, where James dared one last look back at Lily, only to find her emerald eyes already on him.

"Bye James." She called, from across the shop. He gave her a smile, and a cheerful wave, running into Peter as he fumbled himself out the door, obviously smitten, making Lily laugh, as she watched the marauders disappear around the corner.

Lily sighed, and walked slowly back to behind the counter, fumbling with the black apron that she kept tied around her waist.

There was something about the boys that had her intrigued, all four of them. She didn't know what it was; it couldn't have been the good looks that most of them seemed to display, because many handsome men came through the store everyday, and Lily had never been so fascinated by any of them before. It definitely wasn't the way that James drooled over her; she fathomed, as she swept up a mysterious pile of sugar that had accumulated near where he was sitting. No, it was something else entirely. Almost as though they were old friends, whom she had had when she was younger; not that she'd had many friends when she was younger…

Lily had always felt like an outsider; always. She had never really fitted in. Even when she had moved into secondary school, nobody had taken that much of an interest in her; or perhaps she hadn't taken an interest in them. She was nearing her eighteenth birthday, and she still was yet to find a real friend; or a real boyfriend for that matter.

Lily spent most of her time reading, or working, or doing something else to take her mind off the fact that she didn't belong.

As she thought this, a light over the other side of the café erupted, shattering shards of glass everywhere, and sending the people who were sitting under it diving under the tables. Lily gasped, and ran for a pan and broom, to clean it up.

It was strange, but when things like this happened she always felt responsible, and would riddle in guilt for days, even when she hadn't been near the accident at all. Maybe it was because strange things seemed to happen around Lily. It might have been one of the reasons that she had always had such trouble making friends.

When she was six, and her mother had taken her to the park with the sister, Petunia, they had been racing for the slide. When Petunia tried to push Lily off; jealous that she had reached it first, Lily hadn't been sent slamming into the wood chips, but merely floated, landing much too gracefully for a frazzled six year old. It was probably the first time that Lily had realised she wasn't normal. The way Petunia's eyes narrowed when she made the landing was enough to tell her that she shouldn't have done that.

But the boys, who came in day after day, certainly had something about them. Something undeniable, yet Lily found it impossible to place her finger on it. It kept her awake late into the night, and made her clumsy at work each day; she knew she wouldn't be happy until she knew what it was.

Not that she didn't have much time to watch them. James, Remus, Sirius and Peter came in the very next day, and sat at the same table; in the corner, by the window, with a clear view of the front counter. Lily narrowed her eyes, and scanned them up and down, once again, trying to search out familiarities…

They were a little more rugged up today; even though they continued to creep further and further into summer, the weather was taking the completely opposite path; the warmer it was supposed to get, the drearier it became, with a strange chill being brought by odd mists, that the weather forecasters couldn't explain away.

"Morning James!" she called, from behind the counter, nervous about talking to them at all. James' eyes lit up, and Lily gave a grin, heading over to their table, pen and pad in hand, ready to take their order.

"What you four doing today?" she asked, smiling around at them. James cleared his throat. He seemed much more together today, as though he had cringed so horribly over the events of the previous morning that it had snapped him out of his stupor.

James shrugged.

"Not too sure yet Lily, not too sure at all." He answered, giving her a broad grin. She turned to the others.

Remus smiled also, and inwardly thanked James for not being such an idiot two days in a row.

"Nothing planned as of yet." He said kindly. Sirius wasn't listening. He was too busy winking at a dark haired beauty from across the café.

After ordering, the morning proceeded without anything eventful occurring, much to James' displeasure, and to Sirius, as he still couldn't get the brown haired girl to approach him merely by winking.  
"James, can we leave now. I need to stop by Diagon Ally and get a new quill." Remus asked, rising from his seat. James thought for a moment, remaining sitting in his chair. He snuck a look over at Lily, who was taking off her apron and hanging it on the hook at the back of the store, getting ready to take her break. He turned back to Remus.

"No, you three go though, I'll meet you at Peter's house soon." He told him, with a smile. Remus surveyed his face for a moment. The smile seemed sane enough. There would be no harm in leaving James by himself, so long as he stayed normal.

Remus deflated.

"All right, here." He reached into his pocket, and gave James some muggle money, laughing a little as he did.

"And here is my number." He said, giving James a slip of paper now, with figures scrawled on it. "If she asks for your number, do not answer 2, all right? She's not talking about Quidditch, she is talking about this, give it to her."

James nodded, sharply drinking in all that Remus was saying.

He bid farewell to the other marauders, and as the door swung shut behind them, he could hear Sirius saying;

"Who would have thought Remus would be giving James and I tips on how to get women?"

"Shut it Padfoot…"

James ripped his glance from their retreating figures, and looked instead at Lily, who was carrying a tray with her lunch on top, heading for the table she always sat at on her break.

"Lily." James called, hearing his voice shake a little as he spoke. She turned, and saw his anxious face, smiling. "Do you want to sit over here? I mean, you don't have to, I only thought that I wouldn't be sitting with anyone, and you wouldn't and-"

"I'd love to." Replied Lily, walking over top where he was seated, cutting him off before he started to drip sugar again, or something equally as strange.

She placed her things down on the table, and took the seat opposite James. He was delighted, and inside of his feelings he never knew he had were doing triumphant somersaults.

"So, where did the other guys go?" she asked, gesturing to the empty seats. James rolled his eyes.

"They went to go shopping." He shared, laughing, "Needed to get a few things was they're excuse, but I know Sirius just loves trying on those little pink dresses."

Lily laughed, and took a sip of her drink, smiling.

"Sirius…so he was the one…with the black hair, right?" she asked, desperate to know everything that she could about the boys. James nodded.

"Right. That's Padfoot." He agreed. Lily cocked one eyebrow inquiringly.

"Padfoot?"

"Oh, nicknames. I'm Prongs. Much more manly, if you ask me." He said, with a grin, messing up his hair unnecessarily. Lily's forehead creased a little, wondering what the point of the hair scrunching had been, and she took a bite of her bread, drinking in the details on the friends with it.

"Ok then, so who is the one with the sandy coloured hair then?" she asked, "The one who always saves your ass when you start blubbering." She added, laughing. James reddened.

"That would be Remus. Moony." Lily was more curious about the nicknames than ever, but she held back, thinking that she would know eventually. There was still one more to find out about.

"And the short one?"

"Peter. Little Petty." He added, with a laugh. Lily looked startled. "No, I'm kidding, his nickname's Wormtail." He told her, with a grin.

"So what school do you lot go to then?" she asked. She had never seen them about before, and she had attended a lot of schools. Maybe that was where she knew them from.

James had frozen. He needed Remus to bail him out of this one. What was he meant to say to that? He decided the truth; or at least a version of it; would be the safest way to go.

"Boarding school in Scotland." He told her, "You wouldn't have heard of it. We're only home for the summer." His smile fell, as he looked at the mist out the window that had been caused by dementors. "At leats, it was meant to be summer." He added, ruefully.

Lily's forehead creased.

"Yes, I know what you mean. This mist is rather weird, isn't it?" she said, looking out the window. "It makes me feel all horrible inside too…"

James stared, wishing he could tell her what was going on; to make her trust him, but he knew that he never could.

"Exactly." Was all he said, taking a large sip of his drink to save having to reply.

They kept talking, and laughing, until Lily's eyes wandered to the large clock over the counter. She jumped.

"Oh no, I've gone over my break!" she said, jumping up and fumbling with her little metal tray. "I'm sorry, I had a great time though, do you think I could have your number?" she asked, giving him a little grin. "I'll give you a call, maybe we can have a conversation that lasts for more than my lunch break?"

James' mouth opened up, and he went to tell her what Quidditch position he played, when Remus' wise words echoed in his head. James dove his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the little slip of paper he had been given earlier.

"Here." He said, handing it to her. "I had a good time too."

He watched her leave, back behind the counter, and then got up himself, walking out the door.

Lily watched James walk away, right until he was swallowed up but the odd fog. She had a smile etched into her pretty face. Though it only lasted for half an hour, Lily knew that that was probably the most normal conversation she had ever had in her life.

A/N: so thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope that you liked it, the next one should be up Really soon! Please tell me what u think about it!

Luv Ella xXx


	2. you never dingalinged me!

James continued to return to the café, every morning, for a whole month. Sometimes the marauders would accompany him; Sirius keeping a keen eye out for the brown haired beauty who he hadn't seen since they had first met; though she continued to frequently pop up in conversations between the four friends. Often, however, James would go to the place alone, where he would wait eagerly for the half hour he would get to spend in Lily's company, when she was on her lunch break.

There were things that she said that intrigued him more than he could explain. He knew that if he tried, even to Remus, then he would end up sounding like a complete idiot.

James continued this way; not ever staying after lunch, for fear of appearing too forward, until, right at the beginning of August, the muggle telephone that was perched on the wall in Remus Lupin's kitchen let out a loud, shrill ring, shaking so that the thin layer of dust that had built over it's surface was rattled off ardently.

Remus' mother let out a vociferous shriek, for she never failed to become overly excited when the unusual appliance began to make sounds. The witch was intrigued by it's noises, and no matter how many times her husband taught her how to use it, she couldn't seem to shake the habit of yelling through the cord and down the line, often resulting in her husbands muggle friends becoming very scared indeed.

"HELLO?" she practically screamed, on this occasion, whipping the sweat off her brow, which was a combination of the summer air and her slaving away in the kitchen. "WHO IS SPEAK-ING?"

Remus came thundering down the stairs, hearing his mother's attempts at speaking through the contraption, and cringing at the thought of his father having to explain away her antics to his friends yet again.

Lily's timid voice came through the line, shaking as she spoke, nervous about actually calling in the first place, not to mention her over enthusiastic reception.

"Hello." She said, nervously, "This is Lily Evans. I was wondering if I may speak to James please." She said, cringing on the other end of the line as she waited for a reply. She didn't even know what she was going to say to him.

She had been sitting at home, on a Saturday night, once again, feeling way too sorry for herself about the fact that she was never invited out, when the urge had over powered her, and she found herself sitting by her phone, her breathing jaggered and uncontrollable; a state she never found herself in, normally having such a level head.

Mrs Lupin's face creased in confusion for just a moment, and she spun around, hearing Remus' footsteps behind her. Remus read her perplexed features all too correctly, and knew exactly what had happened.

Lunging for the phone, and grabbing it from her hand, Remus donned a voice far too deep for his own.

"Hello." He greeted, groaning inwardly. He didn't know who it was yet, or who he was meant to be, deciding to act aloof until he knew whether it was Belle or Lily speaking.

"Hello?" came Lily's voice down the other end of the phone.

Remus sighed. He couldn't tell who it was. His mother gave him an inquisitorial look, and he smiled apologetically, giving her a huge thumbs up. Mrs Lupin deflated, and walked back off to the kitchen, pulling a chequered tea towel out of the pockets of her robes.

"How, er, how are you?" he asked, clearing his throat deeply, away from the phone, his hands shaking at the thought of what Sirius or James were going to say when he had to tell them that he was forced to impersonate them for one of the girls. He was renowned in the group at the one who was hideously bad at flirting, and this was no exception, though he was disguised as one (though he wasn't sure which) of Hogwarts biggest womanisers.

"I'm fine." Came the reply, Lily looked at the phone a little puzzled. The voice coming through it sounded nothing like James'; much too deep for Prongs, but she brushed it aside, and gave a small laugh.

"Er, is your mother alright? She seemed a little worked up…"

Remus chocked back a laugh.

"Oh no, she's fine, she was just excited…"

"Why?" Lily asked, intrigued. Remus wished that she would give some hint as to who she was, even through her voice, though none came, and he was forced to speak in a nonchalant air again, racking his brains, thinking of every muggle studies class he had attended, hoping for a burst of inspiration.

"She won the lotttroy." He tried, thinking and mispronouncing the last lesson of the year. Lily decided it was best not to ask, and continued.

"You're kidding! Congratulate her for me, wont you?" she asked, hoping that she had understood what he had been trying to say. "You coming by tomorrow?" she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

Remus let out a huge sigh, and smiled. Lily. It had to be Lily.

"I sure am." He replied, smugly.

"I probably seem really stupid, but you sound a hell of a lot different on the phone." She commented, with a laugh. Remus swallowed deeply, before letting a shaky reply come out of his lips.

"You're not at all stupid, I have a cold, that's all. Making me sound different…" he knew that it was a lame excuse, especially when the pair saw each other every day, but it was all that he could do.

"That's no good. I thought we could go and snog in that store cupboard again."

The phone clattered to the floor, with a crash, as it slipped out of Remus' hands. Realising what he had done, he scurried to the ground, picking it up immediately, though remaining flustered. Why had James failed to mention that he had been off snogging the girl of his-

"I was kidding James, god, I'm insulted that you were so shocked by the insinuation actually." She laughed, mockingly.

"No, no no, no…" Remus stammered, in response, ashamed that he had allowed himself to be fooled.

"Calm self James, it's fine."

Remus took a deep breath, and then paused, thinking of how to continue.

Here Lily was, calling his house, for the first time. What would James say if he knew?

Surely, ask her out. If she took the effort to call him, and joked about snogging in broom closets, and, that had to be a good sign.

There was one horrible, slightly problematic obstacle that Remus had to over come;

What if she said no?

James would never forgive him, and that was definitely not a good thing.

Realising how long it had been before he had talked, Remus opened his mouth, chancing a gamble…

"So I was thinking, do you want to catch up somewhere other than the coffee house tomorrow?" he asked, nervous, despite the fact that it wasn't his love life hanging out on a limb in this circumstance. "See a movie or something?"

Remus knew about movies. He had never been to one himself, but in muggle studies class they had been told al about the moving pictures that they went and watched. Remus couldn't see what the fun would be really, but the muggles seemed to enjoy it, and so he took the chance, his fingers crossed in the pockets of his robes.

Lily was stunned. She had been hoping, but never had she thought that James would actually get up the courage to ask her out- she sat there, gapping, for a moment, before-

"As friends, of course!" Remus added, hastily, incorrectly interpreting her silence, and making Lily's heart plummet past her feet and onto the ground. "I'll get the others to come. It'll be fun." He added, cringing as he realised that he had just invited himself to James and Lily's first date, in theory. Then, supposing that he may as well go the whole way in ruining his best friends life, he added, "You can bring some friends along too, if you would like."

Remus knew how stupid and robotic he sounded. Just the opposite to how James did whenever he asked James out, though he had admittedly not been as smooth when he was talking to Lily…

Lily smiled, still disappointed, on the other side of the line.

"Sure, I'd love to." She said, a pained expression masked by the phone. "Meet you there at five?" she asked, expectantly.

He gulped, and stammered back a 'yes' before bidding her a farewell, and hanging up the phone.

Lily heard the dial tone at the other end, and looked down the phone line, confused. For a moment there she had thought- or maybe just hoped- that James had really liked her.

James stared down at Remus's head, which was floating in the fire, his mouth dropped open in an expression of utter amazement.

"You mean to tell me that I am going to watch other people fall in love on a giant moving screen, with Lily Evans, you, Padfoot, and Wormtail?_"_

Remus gave him a guilty, apologetic glance.

"That's the basic gist of things, yes…"

"How the bloody hell did you manage that Moony? I've been trying to ask her out for weeks, you're a bloody genius!" he began to dance around his living room in a maniacal sort of way, a triumphant beam on his face.

Remus spluttered, amazed. He had been readily preparing himself to be whacked over the head, and to swallow a fair amount of ash, however, James seemed to be ecstatic.

"But…but _we're going to be there_!" Remus said, wondering why James wasn't more annoyed. James nodded, rapturous.

"I know, it's amazing, this way she doesn't think I'm too forward. Friendly get togethers, that's the key, and then I swoop in with my charms and she wont scream when I snog her senseless!" James said, raising one leg up on a footrest and pumping the air with his left hand, exultantly.

"So this is a good thing then?" said Remus, slowly, raising his eyebrows questioningly. James nodded, in earnest, making Moony sigh with relief.

James didn't go to the coffee shop the next morning.

Half a day might seem a long time for one of the male species to prepare for a date, especially when it was going to be shared by three mates anyway, however, James not only had to make himself smell mildly appealing, and work out muggle money, but he also had to stop over analysing the situation, which was driving him to the brink of insanity.

He stood in front of the mirror, with an unblinking stare, looking himself up and down.

He jumped, startled, when Sirius appeared in the mirror behind him.

"Your mum let me in." he told James, with a laugh. His friend had been so absorbed in himself that he hadn't even noticed Sirius saunter through the doorway.

"I suppose you're just nervous about the-" he put his hands in the air and made air quotes with his fingers- "Gathering of mutual friends." And then let out a snigger. "Me, Remus, Pete and you sure are gonna get lucky tonight eh Prongsie?"

James gave him a look that could kill, and then exchanged a small, rueful smile.

"Laugh all you want Padfoot, I am going out with Lily Evans tonight."

Sirius continued to snigger, and James replied by throwing a rather heavy book his way.

Remus didn't arrive until ten minutes before they were due to leave, and they were practically out the door when Peter rushed up to them, having mistaken the time.

James, after this, was furious, and being nervous did not help the anger.

"You looked nice." He told Lily, his hands shaking as he walked up to her, out the front of the cinema. Lily raised one eyebrow at him, sceptically, and smiled.

"Alright. Er, so do you." then she turned to Remus. "And you." her gaze roamed right around to Sirius and Peter, who were standing at James side in what some would call a loyal manner, and others (James included) would just call annoying. "And you two." She added, with the hint of a laugh.

Then she turned, and began to walk inside. James followed close behind, and Sirius hurried to catch up.

"Now Lils, when you told Remus that he looked nice before me, that didn't mean that he looked nicer than me, did it?'

Lily sniggered, and Remus grabbed a hold of the back of Sirius's shirt, and pulled him back to walk with him and Peter.

Lily turned to James.

"So you're all better now then?" she asked, trying to start kind conversation. James nodded, a bemused expression on his face.

Remus over heard, and then let out a very fake, raucous sneeze.

"Ah yes, Gave it to me the git." He said, loudly, and gave a nervous little laugh. James' eyes widened, confused, and Lily gave them both a curious look, and continued into the cinema.

As soon as the five of them entered through the door, Remus knew that there was going to be trouble; Peter seemed almost magnetically drawn towards the muggle vending machine, in the corner of the room, and Sirius walked straight to the stationary picture- much larger than life- of a muggle actress, plastered to the wall, his mouth dropped open in awe. James took one step closer to Lily. He didn't know what to do from here. He could smell what he recognised as popcorn coming from the stall in the corner, but they were advertising drinks that he didn't know, and the currency on the price board was definitely not what he was used to.

Peter now had his rather round nose pressed eagerly up against the glass that guarded the contents of the vending machine from the outside world, and Sirius was prodding the picture of the girl suspiciously, trying, it appeared, to make her move.

James saw this, and steered Lily over to the food bar, so that their backs were facing both his friends' odd behaviour.

"What would you like?" asked James, pulling out of his pocket the muggle money that Remus had lent him. Lily looked at the board.

"Choc top?" she suggested. James stopped. He stared. He ran his hands thought his hair, messing it up.

Was she referring to him? Like a carrot top, only…chocolate brown…

There was a loud cough from behind him, a cough that sounded a lot like ice cream, and came from Moony's direction.

James sighed in relief, glad for the help, and order two choc tops, while Lily turned around and gave Remus a very strange look. He shook his head, as though he didn't know what had happened, and gave two tiny coughs.

"Nasty, what James had." He said, referring to the cold, and gave another hopeful cough, trying not to appear fake.

Not entirely convinced, Lily walked over to the ticket booth, and they bought tickets, and strode in, James making sure that he got a seat right next to Lily. Sirius followed close behind. Remus and Peter, however, were the last in the cinema to enter, Remus having had to pry Wormtail off the vending machine, trying to convince him that the candy inside just wasn't real.

James sat, in the darkness, and looked to his side.

There it was.

Lily's hand was sitting, ominously, on the armrest, right next to him.

Was it there for him to hold? Had she purposely place the hand there so that he would grab it, and make sure that the movie outing wasn't just another way to ensure he entered 'the friend zone'? Or was it merely placed on the seat so that she was in prime position to steal Sirius' popcorn?

Everything could rest on this hand, lying nonchalantly on the armrest. All he had to do was reach out and-

It was gone. She had moved it. Was that because she had given up on James, or because the armrest was itchy? Or uncomfortable? Or-

James groaned, and let his head fall back onto the chair, annoyed. He was over analysing her every move. He was becoming obsessive. He was never like this over a girl.

It was not a good sign.

The movie continued, without much event, apart from Peter becoming scared of the giant spider on the screen and making all the muggles in the vicinity- including Lily- turn and look at him when he yelled 'acromantula!' until about half way into the plot line, when Remus was deciding that the movies definitely was not the best bet for the 'mutual gathering of friends'.

"If the asshole who has his feet on the back of my seat doesn't get them off right away then I swear I will come back there and rip your head off!"

Sirius squinted into the darkness, at the silhouette of the girl who was kneeling up on the seat in front of him, which he had had his feet resting on until just a moment before.

His face slowly split into a grin.

"It's you…" he said slowly, smiling slyly, and leaning forward so that his head was in the middle of her seat and that of her friend, who had hazelnut hued hair, and kept her face firmly to the front of the cinema.

Belle froze, still facing the screen. She knew the voice. It was most definitely that of the boy she had met at the coffee house in London. The one who had look strikingly familiar.

Slowly, she turned to face him, cringing slightly.

"Thanks."

"For what?" asked Sirius, puzzled. Bella looked just as confused.

"Er, for taking your feet of the back of my chair…." She replied, as though she were speaking the most obvious truth in the world.

A dawning look of comprehension crossed his handsome face, and he grin, impishly, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the back of the chair once again. Belle flared up immediately.

"And _what_ was the point of that?" she asked, turning around to reveal her clearly aggravated disposition. Sirius raised one eyebrow.

"I'm rather mad at you." he replied, with an air of nonchalance.

"What for?" asked Bella fired back, outraged. Sirius puffed out his chest, indignantly.

"You never ding-a-linged me!"

"_Excuse_ me?" Belle cried, shocked. From the seat next to her, Remus groaned, and rested his head in his hands, where they rested on the armrest.

"Rung Sirius, she never rung you."

Sirius' eyes grew wide, and he gulped.

"You never rung me." He repeated, hopefully.

Bell gave him a curious look, and then whipped back around so that she was facing the front.

"Well?" he asked, his raised voice arousing many angry voices of people who were trying to watch the movie. Lily gave James a questioning look, as Sirius' annoyance was brought to their attention, and James returned it with an expression of pure nervousness.

Belle was stammering, not quite knowing what to say.

"I didn't know what I would say. I still haven't worked out where I know you from." she said, formulating an excuse fresh in her mind. Sirius gave her an aggravated look.

"I thought we agreed we'd never met?"

"I certainly wish we hadn't!"

"Feeling's mutual!"

"You don't even know what that means!"

"I've heard Moony say it!"

Belle made a disgruntled noise, but caught herself, obviously realising that the prat sitting behind her wasn't at all worth wasting the breath on.

The pair of them sat, in silence, Belle trying desperately not to notice the feet propped up on the back of her seat.

Meanwhile, James sat, two seats down, reflecting that this barely counted as him watching his first muggle movie. His eyes had barely wavered from Lily's face the entire night, something he sorely hoped she hadn't noticed.

The credits rolled, and Belle was the first in the cinema to rise to her feet.

"Come on Audrey." She said to her friend, in a low hiss. "If I leave now I never have to see that creep again.

Audrey turned a deep shade of pink, and gave Belle a guilty, yet apologetic smile.

"Well, I sort of, I told Remus that we would go out for ice-cream with them…"

"Who the hell is Remus?" Belle whispered back, hoping against hope that he wasn't who she thought he was.

"Oi Remus! Where to now?" came Sirius' voice, in an audible tone, from behind them. Belle's eyes flashed with fury.

"Why…why…_why?"_" she asked, unable to get any other word out. Audrey laughed, in spite of herself.

"Well, while the two of you were arguing we got to rolling our eyes at each other, then talking, and then he asked if we'd like to come out with them. James- the one with the messy hair- has this girl see, Lily, and she'll feel awfully awkward if she's the only female amongst that mob, don't you think?"

"You managed to talk out all of that in the time Sirius and I were arguing?" Bella asked, mildly amazed through her angry. Audrey nodded, rolling her hazel eyes.

"You wouldn't have noticed, you were too busy flirting with him."

"Flirting! I don't think that that anywhere near classifies as-"

"Audrey? You two coming?" asked Remus, running back to where the two girls were still arguing in the seats of the cinema. The girls jumped.

"Yep!" Audrey replied, chirpily, grabbing Belle's hand and bouncing up the row, dragging her reluctant friend behind her.

**A/N: I am so sorry for the long update. Bella, u can stop hating me now, hahahaha! I did have most writing ages ago, but I was having trouble editing, and also, I know I told some reviewers that Voldermort would be in this chapter, but I thought it would ruin the flow for me to introduce that here, so he shall be soon, but rest assured, he is in there! Lol. So sorry! Next chapter up soon ((I'm on holidays, finally!)) hope you liked this! review!**

**xXx**


End file.
